Ladders and scaffolding are used for many tasks, including enabling someone to work on an elevated object. Ladders are also frequently utilized to enable a person to paint an area such as the higher portions of a wall or such as a ceiling. During such work, the person performing the work often requires the availability of various tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, electronic devices, such as screw guns, and even supplies like paint, screws, and fasteners, etc. For example, when a painter is painting an elevated area, it may be desired to hold the supply of paint adjacent the top of the ladder, such as a can or bucket of paint or a pan filled with paint.
The typical stepladder has two front legs which support the step members and two rear legs which lean to support the front legs and thus the step members. The front legs are typically rigidly fastened to a top step, while the rear legs are pivotally attached to that same top step. This permits the stepladder to be folded for storage. Such stepladders generally have a small, pivotally attached ladder shelf which, when the ladder is in use, extends horizontally from the rear legs, generally at a height at or just below the first step down from the top of the ladder. The ladder shelf can be pivoted to lie flat against the rear legs when the ladder is folded for storage. The pivotal attachment often results in the shelf being somewhat unstable. In addition, such shelves are generally small, with only limited surface area for holding tools. Often, also, such shelves consist of two boards fastened to cross-arms and having a gap between them. Further, such a shelf is generally made of light materials and can support only moderate weight. As a result of all this, tools or other items are likely to drop from the shelf, making it necessary for the person on the ladder to get down to retrieve the dropped items.
Similarly, workers will often use scaffolding structures for various phases of construction and building repair and will typically stand on a lower platform of the scaffolding while work is being done on a particular portion of the building, the scaffolding then being movable from place to place to continue construction operations. Typical scaffolds are formed of elongated tubular or angle members which are either bolted or welded together at their ends. Very little attention is typically given by scaffold manufacturers to accessories which will assist a worker in holding weighty objects during completion of the work task at hand.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.